PaperCut Client Deployment using Mac Packaging & Deployment Tools

This guide is intended for Macintosh Systems Administrators, Software Packagers, and Client Systems Administrators who have a software packaging and deployment solution already in place, such as Jamf’s Casper Suite, or Munki.

It is assumed that you wish to install the PaperCut client locally to workstations.

It is assumed that you have experience packaging and deploying packages in your environment.

For large managed Mac install bases, it is generally not feasible to install the PaperCut Client application (PCClient.app) by hand on each workstation. This document will explain some best practices for automated deployment of PCClient.app, and any additional files you may wish to deploy with it.

Critical Notes

Please make sure that you keep the version deployed to client machines’ PCClient.app version up-to-date with the version on your PaperCut application server.

Key Components Required for Deployment

PCClient.app (required)

launchd.plist file (required if you wish to keep PCClient running at all times)

You will need to package PCClient.app, and launchd.plist if required, and distribute the package to your Mac systems.

PCClient.app

This application is responsible for reporting user balances to your users. It can be found inside the PaperCut NG/MF folder after you’ve completed a server install. The default path is /Applications/Papercut [NG/MF]/client/PCClient.app.

Launchd.plist

For permanently on-site Macs, where the PaperCut Client app needs to launch on user login and stay running for the entire user session, you should install a launchd plist. For best results store the launchd plist in /Library/LaunchAgents/.

If you’re deploying the PCClient.app in /Applications/ then you can use this linked plist: PaperCut_LaunchD.zip.

If you're using a customized location for the Papercut client app (perhaps in /Applications/Utilities/ or /usr/local/) you will need to modify and deploy the following plist, replacing [PathToApplication] with the appropriate path:

Notes

For stationary presentation computers and laptops substitute “open -g -W /Applications/PCClient.app” for “/[PathToApplication]/PCClient.app/Contents/MacOS/JavaAppLauncher” and exchange KeepAlive for RunAtLoad — this will open the client app when the user logs in, and won’t respawn it if they quit the app.

For laptops going on and off site it may be best to skip the launchd plist, to prevent blank PaperCut Client messages on users’ laptops when they’re off-site — unless your PaperCut server is accessible from the public internet, laptops will not be able to reach it when offsite.=]

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